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April 12
Events * 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire *1606 - The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of Great Britain. *1633 - The formal inquest of Galileo Galilei by the Inquisition begins. *1776 - North Carolina's Provincial Congress authorized its delegates to the Second Continental Congress to vote for independence by issuing the Halifax Resolves. *1820 - Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organisation to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece. *1861 - American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston. *1864 - American Civil War: Fort Pillow massacre -- Confederate forces under General Nathan Bedford Forrest kill most of the African American soldiers who had surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee. *1865 - American Civil War: Mobile, falls to the Union Army. *1877 - The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal. *1917 - World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans. It is also considered a major event in Canadian history for the primary role Canadian forces played in the attack. *1927 - April 12 Incident: Chiang Kai-shek orders the CPC members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front. *1934 - The strongest surface wind gust in the world, 231 mph, was measured by the staff of the Mount Washington Observatory on the summit of Mount Washington *1934 - The Auto-Lite Strike, which culminated in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers, began. *1935 - First flight of the Bristol Blenheim. *1937 - Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at the British Thomson-Houston factory in Rugby, England. *1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies while in office; vice-president Harry S. Truman is sworn in as the 33rd President of the United States. *1955 - The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective. *1961 - Human spaceflight: Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space in Vostok 3KA-2 (Vostok 1). *1963 - The Soviet nuclear powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel [[Wikipedia:M/S Finnclipper|M/S Finnclipper]] in the Danish straits. Although both vessels are severely damaged both can make it to port. *1968 - Nerve gas accident at Skull Valley, Utah. launching during STS-1.]] *1980 - Samuel Doe takes control of Liberia in a coup d'etat, ending over 130 years of democratic presidential succession in that country. * 1980 - Terry Fox begins his "Marathon of Hope" by dipping his artificial leg into the Atlantic at St. John's, Newfoundland. *1981 - Human spaceflight: The first launch of a Space Shuttle: ''Columbia'' launches on the STS-1 mission. *1990 - opening of Jim Gary's Twentieth Century Dinosaurs exhibition, the work of the only living sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington *1994 - Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam. *1998 - An earthquake in Slovenia, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale near the town of Bovec. *1999 - American President Bill Clinton was cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in the Paula Jones sexual harassment civil lawsuit. *2002 - Pedro Carmona becomes interim President of Venezuela during the Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002, a military coup against Hugo Chávez. *2007 - The Kremlin vetos an investigation into the death of Yuri Gagarin, who was the first man in space. Births *599 BC - Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism (d. 527 BC) * 812 - Muhammad at-Taqi, Muslim Shia Imam (d. 835) *1484 - Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect (d. 1546) *1500 - Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (d. 1574) *1526 - Muretus, French humanist (d. 1585) *1550 - Edward de Vere, English politician (d. 1604) *1577 - Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648) *1713 - Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French writer (d. 1796) *1722 - Pietro Nardini, Italian composer (d. 1793) *1724 - Lyman Hall, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1790) *1726 - Charles Burney, English music historian (d. 1814) *1748 - Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (d. 1836) *1777 - Henry Clay, American statesman (d. 1852) *1794 - Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (d. 1847) *1799 - Henri Druey, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1855) *1823 - Alexandr Ostrovsky, Russian dramatist (d. 1886) *1839 - Nikolai Przhevalsky, Russian explorer (d. 1888) *1848 - José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican poet (d. 1880) *1852 - Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician (d. 1939) *1856 - William Martin Conway, English art critic and mountaineer (d. 1937) *1868 - Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese naval commander (d. 1918) *1869 - Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922) *1871 - Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (d. 1941) *1883 - Dally Messenger, Australian rugby league footballer (d. 1959) *1884 - Otto Meyerhof, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1951) *1887 - Harold Lockwood, American silent film actor (d. 1918) *1888 - Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet pianist (d. 1964) *1892 - Johnny Dodds, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1940) *1893 - Robert Harron, American actor (d. 1920) *1898 - Lily Pons, American soprano (d. 1976) *1901 - Lowell Stockman, American representative (d. 1962) *1902 - Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977) *1903 - Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1994) *1907 - Felix de Weldon, Austrian-born sculptor (d. 2003) * 1907 - Hardie Gramatky, American author and animator (d. 1979) *1908 - Robert Lee Scott, American Air Force pilot (d. 2006) *1911 - Mahmoud Younis, Suez Canal nationalization Engineer (d. 1976) *1912 - Walt Gorney, American actor (d. 2004) * 1912 - Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX, Second Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1988) *1914 - Armen Alchian, American economist *1916 - Beverly Cleary, American writer * 1916 - Benjamin Libet, American pioneering scientist in the field of human consciousness (d. 2007) *1917 - Helen Forrest, American singer (d. 1999) *1919 - Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991) *1923 - Ann Miller, American actress and dancer (d. 2004) *1924 - Raymond Barre, French politician and Prime Minister (d. 2007) * 1924 - Peter Safar, Austrian physician (d. 2003) *1928 - Hardy Krüger, German actor * 1928 - Jean-François Paillard, French conductor *1930 - Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician (d. 2006) *1932 - Dennis Banks, American activist * 1932 - Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2005) * 1932 - Tiny Tim, American musician (d. 1996) *1933 - Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano *1934 - Heinz Schneiter, Swiss footballer *1939 - Alan Ayckbourn, English writer * 1939 - Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league footballer *1940 - Herbie Hancock, American pianist and composer *1941 - Bobby Moore, English footballer (d. 1993) *1942 - Carlos Reutemann, Argentine racing driver and politician *1944 - John Kay, German-born musician (Steppenwolf) *1945 - Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the WHO (d. 2006) *1946 - Ed O'Neill, American actor *1947 - Tom Clancy, American author * 1947 - Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets * 1947 - David Letterman, American talk show host *1948 - Jeremy Beadle, British television presenter * 1948 - Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister of Germany * 1948 - Sandra "Lois" Reeves, American singer (Martha & the Vandellas) *1949 - Scott Turow, American writer *1950 - David Cassidy, American singer and actor * 1950 - Kari Palaste, Finnish architect *1952 - Ralph Wiley, American sports journalist (d. 2004) *1954 - Pat Travers, Canadian musician *1956 - Andy Garcia, Cuban-born actor * 1956 - Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer *1957 - Vince Gill, American musician *1958 - Will Sergeant, English musician (Echo & the Bunnymen) *1960 - Ron MacLean, Canadian sportscaster *1961 - Lisa Gerrard, Australian singer and musician (Dead Can Dance) *1962 - Art Alexakis, American musician (Everclear) * 1962 - Takada Nobuhiko, Japanese wrestler *1964 - Amy Ray, American musician (Indigo Girls) *1965 - Tom O'Brien, American actor-producer *1967 - Sarah Cracknell, English singer (Saint Etienne) * 1967 - Mellow Man Ace, Afro-Cuban rapper *1969 - Lucas Radebe, South African footballer *1970 - Nick Hexum, American musician (311) *1971 - Nicholas Brendon, American actor * 1971 - Shannen Doherty, American actress *1972 - Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player * 1972 - Dimitrios Kokotis, Greek high jumper *1973 - J. Scott Campbell, American comic book artist * 1973 - Antonio Osuna, Mexican baseball player * 1973 - Claudia Jordan, American model *1974 - Marley Shelton, American actress * 1974 - Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer * 1974 - Belinda Emmett, Australian actress (d. 2006) *1975 - Paul Murphy, American writer *1976 - Brad Miller, American basketball player *1977 - Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorian footballer * 1977 - Sarah Jane Morris, American actress *1978 - Guy Berryman, British musician (Coldplay) * 1978 - Riley Smith, American actor *1979 - Claire Danes, American actress * 1979 - Elena Grosheva, Olympic gymnast * 1979 - Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer * 1979 - Jennifer Morrison, American actress and model * 1979 - Paul Nicholls, English actor * 1979 - Jordan De Jong, American baseball player *1980 - Brian McFadden, Irish Singer (former Westlife member). * 1980 - Erik Mongrain, Canadian musician *1981 - Nicolás Burdisso, Argentine footballer * 1981 - Jaspreet Singh, CEO, GlassBox Inc. * 1981 - Brian Vandborg, Danish cyclist *1982 - Deen, Bosnian singer *1985 - Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume) * 1985 - Jeisa Chiminazzo, Brazilian supermodel * 1985 - Olga Seryabkina, Russian singer *1986 - Blerim Džemaili, Swiss footballer *1987 - Brendon Urie, American musician (Panic! at the Disco) *1994 - Moises Arias, American actor * 1994 - Airi Suzuki, Japanese singer (°C-ute) Deaths * 65 - Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist * 238 - Gordian I, Roman Emperor (suicide) * 238 - Gordian II, heir to the Roman Empire (killed in battle) * 352 - St. Julius I, 35th Pope * 434 - Archbishop Maximianus of Constantinople *1125 - Vladislaus I of Bohemia *1204 - Alexios V Doukas, Byzantine emperor *1443 - Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury *1550 - Claude, French soldier (b. 1496) *1555 - Juana of Castile, wife of Philip I of Castile (b. 1479) *1687 - Ambrose Dixon, Virginia Colony pioneer *1704 - Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and writer (b. 1627) *1748 - William Kent, English architect *1782 - Metastasio, Italian poet and librettist (b. 1698) *1788 - Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-born composer (b. 1719) *1795 - Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710) *1814 - Charles Burney, English music historian (b. 1726) *1850 - Adoniram Judson, American Baptist missionary (b. 1788) *1872 - Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer (b. 1795) *1878 - William Marcy Tweed, aka Boss Tweed, American politician (b. 1823) *1898 - Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Roman catholic archbishop of Quebec (b. 1820) *1902 - Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist (b. 1842) *1912 - Clara Barton, American nurse and Red Cross advocate (b. 1821) *1938 - Feodor Chaliapin, Russian bass (b. 1873) *1945 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882) *1962 - Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Indian politician and engineer (b. 1861) *1968 - Heinrich Nordhoff, German automobile engineer, first managing director of Volkswagen (b. 1899) *1971 - Igor Tamm, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895) * 1971 - Ed Lafitte, American baseball player (b. 1871) * 1971 - Wynton Kelly, American jazz pianist (b. 1931) *1975 - Josephine Baker, American dancer (b. 1906) *1977 - Phil Wrigley, American manufacturer and Major League baseball executive (b. 1894) *1980 - Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards and snooker player (b. 1895) * 1980 - William R. Tolbert, President of Liberia (b. 1913) *1981 - Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914) *1983 - Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944) *1986 - Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (b. 1897) *1987 - Mike Von Erich, American wrestler *1988 - Alan Paton, South African novelist (b. 1903) *1989 - Gerald Flood, British actor (b. 1927) * 1989 - Abbie Hoffman, American radical leader (b. 1936) * 1989 - Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921) *1991 - Dead, Swedish black metal vocalist (Mayhem) (b. 1969) *1997 - George Wald, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1903) *1999 - Boxcar Willie, American singer (b. 1931) *2001 - Harvey Ball, American inventor of the Smiley (b. 1921) *2003 - Cecil H. Green, American manufacturer (b. 1900) *2006 - Dr. Rajkumar, Kannada language film actor/singer (b. 1929) * 2006 - Puggy Pearson, American professional poker player (b. 1929) *2007 - Kevin Crease, Longtime Anchor for National Nine News, in Adelaide, Australia (b. 1936) Holidays and observances *The Roman holiday of Cerealia begins. *Yuri's Night, an international celebration of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin; in Russia (and formerly in USSR), the Cosmonautics Day. *Drop Everything and Read Day is celebrated on this day. Liturgical feast days The Feast of St. Basil the Confessor in the Greek Orthodox Church. In the Roman Catholic Church: * Saint Damian * Saint Erkembode * Saint Julius I * Saint Zeno of Verona * Saint Alferius * Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso * Saint Constantine * Saint Sabas * Saint Tetricus * Saint Victor * Saint Vissia * Saint Wigbert * Saint William Ward External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April